3. 3. Statement: The Wales Bill

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:18 pm on 8 June 2016.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 3:18, 8 June 2016

Can I thank the Member, as ever, for his comments? One of the issues that’s been raised of concern with me is lawyers in Wales saying, ‘Well, if we’re a separate jurisdiction, does that mean we won’t be able to practise in England?’ That isn’t the case. It’s quite normal for lawyers to practise across common law jurisdictions. When I was in practice, it was possible to practise in Northern Ireland as long as you joined the Northern Ireland bar, which was £70, I think, in those days, and then you could practise. As long as you joined the appropriate professional association, there was no bar to practice at all. Scotland’s an entirely different matter, as Scottish law is much closer to the law of Germany, Spain or France, for that matter, than it is to the law of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. So, there is no bar to that and nor would I want to create a situation where it was difficult for Welsh law firms to seek work outside of Wales. That’s important for our economy. That’s not what a jurisdiction does. It just makes it easier for laws to be applied and easier for the public to understand them, but certainly it doesn’t make it more difficult for firms to operate. For example, over the past 10 or 15 years in Belfast, a lot of firms from London have moved in, and Northern Ireland is an entirely separate jurisdiction. They haven’t seen that as a bar to practising in Northern Ireland. So, I think that’s an argument that can be resolved, as far as the legal profession is concerned.